KNOWLEDGE, POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS AND SEROPREVALENCE OF HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS (HPV) INFECTION

ABSTRACT

Human Papilloma virus is a sexually transmitted pathogen of major global health concern because it is linked with various cancers. The aim of this research was to investigate the knowledge, risk factors, and seroprevalence of HPV infection among sexually active individuals residing in Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria. A total of 160 participants; 82 males and 78 females were enrolled for this study. The age of the participants ranged from 15 years to >30 years. The socio-demographics and sexual behaviours of the participants was determined using questionnaires. About 4mls of venous blood was collected from each participant and allowed to clot. Afterwards, the blood sample was transferred to the laboratory and centrifuged at 3,000rpm for 10 minutes to obtain serum. The obtained sera were screened for HPV IgM antibodies using Sunlong ELISA test kit manufactured by Sunlong Biotech. The results obtained was analysed using SPSS version 21. The overall seroprevalence of HPV infection among sexually active individuals in Benin city was 10.6%. Females had a higher prevalence of 52.9% HPV IgM antibodies than their male counterparts who had 47.1% prevalence. HPV infection was recorded in two age groups: 19-22 years with a prevalence of 47.1% HPV IgM antibodies and 23-26 years with a prevalence of 52.9% HPV IgM antibodies. The knowledge of HPV among sexually active individuals in Benin city was 51.3%. Several risk factors such as unsafe sexual practices, age of exposure to first sexual activity, and also sex and age did not statistically influence the acquisition of HPV infection in this study. This study investigates the knowledge, seroprevalence and the risk factors contributing to the transmission of HPV infection in this part of Nigeria and emphasize the importance of integrating programmes and campaigns to prevent the spread of HPV infection nationwide.